feeding our neighbors « CrossStreets – The official blog of Catholic Charities New York

Posts Tagged ‘feeding our neighbors’

Cardinal Dolan Leads Catholic Charities Annual Distribution of Thanksgiving Meals

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

In the midst of Catholic Charities’ efforts to help those impacted by Hurricane Sandy and left without adequate food or shelter, Catholic Charities continues to meet the basic human needs of thousands of New Yorkers. On November 20, 2012, Timothy Cardinal Dolan led the annual Catholic Charities distribution of Thanksgiving meals to more than 400 needy New Yorkers at the Kennedy Center in Harlem.

“We don’t ask people what their creed is,” Cardinal Dolan said. “We don’t ask people where they come from. We love everyone and we open our doors to them–there’s always another chair at the table.”

Calling attention to the plight of the hungry throughout the year, Cardinal Dolan also announced the 2013 Feeding Our Neighbors campaign to replenish New York’s stretched food pantries and soup kitchens.

This year, UJA-Federation of New York will join with Catholic Charities to make Feeding Our Neighbors 2013 an interfaith campaign on behalf of New York’s hungry. John S. Ruskay, Executive Vice President and CEO of UJA-Federation of New York, joined Cardinal Dolan and Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, for this announcement.

During the Thanksgiving season and beyond, we remember New Yorkers who must turn to food pantries, soup kitchens and senior center meal programs in order to sustain themselves. To contribute to this year’s Feeding Our Neighbors campaign:

Donate to the campaign online by specifying “Feeding Our Neighbors” in the comments field
Contribute food
Volunteer at a food pantry
Text CCHOPE to 85944 to make a one-time $10 donation to the Feeding Our Neighbors campaign

Tags: Catholic Charities New York, feeding our neighbors, Hurricane Sandy, Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Center, Thanksgiving, UJA Federation of New York
Posted in Agencies, Cardinal Dolan, Events, Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, Interfaith, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, New York City, Volunteering, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »

Can You Walk the Walk? Join Catholic Charities NY at The Epiphany School’s Walk-A-Thon!

Friday, September 28th, 2012

Volunteer to walk with the Catholic Charities NY team at The Epiphany School’s Walk-A-Thon on Sunday, October 14th to benefit Feeding Our Neighbors.

As a volunteer, you’ll:

• Join staff and friends as we stroll along the East River Promenade on a beautiful fall morning – yes, there will be coffee provided

• Help kick off one of the season’s first Feeding Our Neighbors events

• Feel good knowing you’re doing your part for the campaign – all donations of non-perishable food items go toward Feeding Our Neighbors

• Celebrate after the walk with light refreshments

• Support The Epiphany School, a fixture in New York for almost 125 years.

Ready to join us? Contact Staci-Jo Bruce to sign up, and we’ll see you on October 14th.

Tags: East River Promenade, feeding our neighbors, Food Donation, non-perishable food items, The Epiphany School, Walk-A-Thon
Posted in Events, Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, New York City, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged, Uncategorized, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees | No Comments »

Thank You for Feeding Our Neighbors

Friday, April 13th, 2012

Late last year, Cardinal Dolan identified a critical need in the New York Archdiocese: hungry families and dwindling food pantries. He asked us to meet the challenge of replenishing food pantries and soup kitchens to ensure that no hungry neighbor is turned away.

Between January 22nd and January 29th, this challenge was met. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Catholic schools, parishes and institutions of the New York Archdiocese, we raised more than 575,000 meals through the Feeding our Neighbors Campaign: A Catholic Response. Just as important, our message resonated — no hungry neighbor, non-Catholics and Catholics alike, should be turned away.

Parishes responded by filling the boxes provided, publicizing the campaign, and holding a second collection to help meet this basic human need. Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) teams throughout the Archdiocese pledged generous goals to support their home parishes in this endeavor. Archdiocesan Catholic schools joined in by holding special food drives, collecting thousands of pounds of food through the generous support of students and their families.

We extend special thanks, and congratulations, to organizations that went above and beyond in contributing to the Feeding Our Neighbors campaign. Holy Name of Jesus, Valhalla, was the highest-contributing parish, with more than 5,025 pounds of food collected. Regina Coeli School was the highest-contributing Catholic school, with more than 1,350 pounds of food collected.

Rusty Staub and the Mobile Food Pantry helped collect food donations at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and throughout the Archdiocese throughout the week-long campaign. Generous support and partnership was also provided by the Archdiocesan Catechetical Office and the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Because of the hard work of many, more than 40 parish and community-based food pantries and soup kitchens received food or grants:

STATEN ISLAND: St. Edward’s Food Pantry at Mt. Loretto, St. Ann Parish, St. Mary of the Assumption and Holy Family Food Pantry.

MANHATTAN: St. Mary’s Food Pantry, Church of St. Gregory the Great Food Pantry, Our Lady of Lourdes Pantry, Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal – Fr. Solanus Casey Food Pantry, Kennedy Center Food Pantry; Harlem, Washington Heights Ecumenical Food Pantry, St. Cecilia’s Food Pantry; East Harlem, Our Lady of Sorrows Food Pantry; Lower East Side, All Saints Food Pantry; Harlem and St. Mark’s Food Pantry; Harlem.

BRONX: St. Crispin’s, St. Raymond’s Food Pantry, St. Simon Stock Food Pantry, St. Anthony Parish Food Pantry, Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal Guadalupe Convent, Immaculate Conception Food Pantry, Our Lady of Grace Social Outreach Pantry and Highbridge Community Pantry/Muslim Women’s Institute.

WESTCHESTER: Holy Rosary; Port Chester, Holy Spirit Food Pantry; Cortlandt Manor, Food Bank of Westchester, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal; Yonkers, St. Mary’s Food Pantry; Mohegan Lake, St. Joseph’s; Yonkers, St. Peter’s Parish Food Pantry; Yonkers, Sacred Heart Church; Mount Vernon and Sacred Heart Food Pantry; Dobbs Ferry.

ROCKLAND: Catholic Community Services of Rockland and St. Peter’s Parish Food Pantry.

DUTCHESS: Hyde Park Community Pantry, St. Denis Parish Food Pantry; Hopewell Jct., St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry and St. Mary Mother of the Church Parish Food Pantry; Fishkill.

SULLIVAN: St. George – St. Francis Parish Food Pantry; Jeffersonville and Federation of the Homeless.

We look forward to another successful Feeding Our Neighbors campaign in 2013. Thank you again for your support.

Tags: Archbishop Dolan, catholic schools, feeding our neighbors, Food Pantry, hunger, Msgr. Kevin Sullivan
Posted in Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, Parishes, Volunteering | No Comments »

A Muslim-Catholic Social Service Partnership

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity is profoundly important in diverse communities such as New York – especially when it comes to issues of faith. Ensuring positive interfaith relations on institutional and interpersonal levels can result in a more positive, charitable community for all. In this series of blog posts, Catholic Charities explores the many dimensions of interfaith relations and the ways in which social services organizations can take a leadership role in this area.

By Richard Bertin

While we might traditionally associate February with Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and the honoring of past presidents, religious traditions are also central to this time of year. On Feb 3, many Muslims celebrated Mawlid-al-Nabi, the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, while during the middle of the month Catholics began the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday.

Catholic Charities New York, presented 2,500 pounds of food to the Muslim Women’s Institute Community Food Pantry at Highbridge, in the Bronx earlier this month

We all know how important it is to learn about the past and celebrate the diverse cultural groups that contribute to our community – which of course includes religion. Never before have people worldwide been more connected to each other as they are today and yet there is still a pressing need for different cultures to understand each other, particularly in the politically polarizing realm of religion.

This past month, a partnership between Catholic Charities and the Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) took action on this very issue.

After the success of the Archdiocesan-wide Feeding Our Neighbors campaign, which collected enough food and funds to supply 575,000 meals to replenish local food pantries, 2,500 lbs of that bounty were donated to the Muslim Women’s Institute Community Food Pantry at in the Bronx.

Thanks to the support of the GHR Foundation and ICNY, Catholic Charities has formed interfaith partnerships with Muslim food pantries that are also suffering from food shortages and decline in public funding. By joining together to reach a common goal of helping neighbors in need – despite cultural and religious differences – more food is available to all New Yorkers.

Did you know?

Only 20% of the world’s Muslim population lives in the Middle East. (60% are found in Asia)

Calling a person or group “Islamic” is inaccurate. To describe someone who follows Islam, it is better to use the term “Muslim.” The word “Islamic” is an adjective used to describe objects or ideas that connect to ideals of Islam, such as “Islamic art.”

China has more Muslims than Syria. (One-fifth of the world’s Muslim population lives in countries where Islam is not the religious majority.

“Arab” is not a racial or religious classification; it’s an ethnic classification. (There are 22 Arab nations)

63% of Arab Americans are Christian. (24% are Muslim)

Tags: catholic, feeding our neighbors, GHR Foundation, Highbridge, Interfaith Center of New York, Muslim, Muslim Women’s Institute Community Food Pantry
Posted in Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, Interfaith, What We Do at Catholic Charities | 1 Comment »

New York Archdiocese Joins Forces to Feed Our Neighbors

Friday, January 20th, 2012

By Marianna Reilly

January 20, 2012 — From January 22 through January 29, organizations throughout the Archdiocese of New York will join forces to help address the hunger crisis in our community. The Feeding Our Neighbors campaign is a unified response to Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan’s call to “feed the hungry in the name of Jesus,” ensuring that none of our neighbors are turned away when they look to the church for help. Learn more and join the campaign today.

Join the fight against hunger. Tell us what you will be contributing to our Archdiocesan-wide drive on Facebook.

Looking for ideas? Check out this guide to food donations:

The Archdiocese of New York network needs these nutritious foods:

Vegetables Canned Vegetables Tomato Sauce Vegetable Soups
Fruits Canned Fruits (in juice or light syrup) Dried Fruits 100% Fruit Juices
Proteins Beans- canned or dry Peanut Butter Nuts Canned Meat (chicken, beef, ham) Canned Fish (tuna, salmon, sardines) Canned Stews (chicken or beef)
Grains Rice (white, brown, flavored) Pasta/noodles Dry Cereal and Hot Cereal (grits, oatmeal, farina) Flour/Cornmeal/Baking Mixes Whole Wheat Crackers Couscous
Dairy Dry Milk packets Shelf stable milk Soy/Almond/Rice Milk
Other Items Nutritional Beverages (Boost, Ensure, Carnation Instant Breakfast) Spices Coffee/Tea Personal Care Items

To ensure safety, we cannot use:

Rusty or Unlabeled Cans
Avoid glass containers and all perishable foods
Homemade Items
Noncommercial Canned Items
Noncommercial Packaged Items
Alcoholic Beverages & Mixes
Open or Used Items

Tags: Archbishop Dolan, feeding our neighbors, Food Pantry, hunger, poverty, soup kitchen, volunteering
Posted in Archdiocese News, Cardinal Dolan, Events, Volunteering, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »